Thorns
by Estrella Tallinfoot
Summary: Bella...it was all Bella's fault. Emmett WOULD see his Rose smile again, no matter how many thorns got in his way. One-shot. Rated T for some language and a possibly gruesome scene.


Ok, so I lied; I DID decide to make another Twilight fanfiction (for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest you check out my other Twilight fanfiction – Frigid), and boy am I excited!! They are too much fun… I apologize to any writers who may have written the same thing – sorry, but I don't have time to look through 22+ pages of Emmett-based fanfictions. I thank you profoundly for taking the time to read this story. Feel free to comment. By the way, this takes place before Breaking Dawn some time.

Twilight: Thorns

Emmett scrambled his way through the brambles of an Oregon forest (he had forgotten the name, as far as he was concerned, it was just another hunting ground), although scrambled isn't quite the right word to use to describe how a vampire moves. It was more of a graceful, perfectly coordinated scramble, if you can imagine such a thought. He was hunting, and from his opinion, it was a much needed break away from his 'family'. And Isabella Swan. Or Bella, as she preferred to be called.

Bella, with the long, straight, dark brown hair, the fair skin (although not fair enough to be a vampire), the full lips that were a bit too full for her heart-shaped face that was continuously the color of scarlet, the completely clumsy coordination with the incoherent ability to lie, her strange way of thinking that was enough to get even Albert Einstein confused, and those chocolate brown eyes that made you melt when you looked at her – they were enough to make anyone's heart flutter, but Emmett didn't have a heart. His had stopped beating long ago. That was just Bella in all her glories.

Besides, he loved Rosalie.

The urge to hunt suddenly and randomly deserted him, and he leaped up into the top of a great pine, sitting himself down comfortably, deciding to rest, even though he was not tired.

Emmett could see why Edward loved Bella, but in the same ways that he could see, he had no clue why Edward would fall for such a klutz – he wasn't quite certain if the pun was intended. She was constantly tripping over her own feet, and several other parts of her body that Emmett didn't even know humans could trip over. Was she born without a cerebellum? Oh, but she did have at least _some_ balance – she wasn't just some lump of skin and blood. Maybe that was it: her blood. It was so aromatic and pleasing and strong! Sometimes, Emmett had to step away from Bella just to regain the control over himself that he had fought so hard to achieve. It had taken years, decades for him to completely compose himself when he faced a human, and now this…this…girl was just waltzing in and stomping out his fire that had cost him so much. How could Edward stand the sheer scent of her? Did he just…_not breathe_, when he was near her? But he had to breathe some time, the idiot. Did he want her just for her blood? No, that couldn't be it, he could see the look in Edward's eyes when he gazed at Bella, playing with her hair or just holding her close. Much like the look Rosalie would give him, often, or even the look he gave Rosalie – his face was capable of such emotion, he believed. And of course, Bella just batted those long eyelashes right back at Edward, smiling a love-filled smile, but then ruining it by doing something stupid – like tripping over her own feet or blushing or hyperventilating or some other stupid Bella move. Then Emmett would make a snide comment or embarrassing remark about her and she would turn an even deeper red, and sometimes, if it was bad enough, her face would contort into a scowl, and he would burst into laughter at the sight of an embarrassed, cantankerous Bella. Sometimes, even Edward would turn around and give Emmett a nasty glare. But he didn't care, this brand of comedy was what he lived…or rather, existed for, you could say.

Bella's mind was also enough to keep him guessing, and he realized how frustrating it must be for Edward to not be able to read her mind. Was he not able to understand her thoughts because they were just so twisted in the first place that her mind had created some sort of force field? Just the way she reacted to the simplest things was enough to make anyone go crazy. She would worry about the small things instead of looking at the big picture. Or she would look at the big picture and completely ignore the little details that would turn into big problems that could possibly kill her. Or at least something to that effect. The workings of Bella's strange, strange mind were definitely something to ask Carlisle some day.

Emmett sighed, and the smell of animal blood filled his nose – the desire to hunt washed over him again, and he swung through the branches of the trees like a monkey, now eager to sneak upon his prey and feast, quenching his now-seemingly unbearable thirst. He was usually not this deep in his thinking. Things were the way they were because that's how they were. End of story.

His hands landed lightly on the branches, for he knew how to manage his strength, much as he did as a human. Emmett hardly remembered anything from when he was a human, but he remembered his great strength, and that he knew how to keep it under control; when to let just enough loose to do what was needed, and when just to keep it as soft as an angel's touch. He liked to please Rosalie that way; to trail his fingers up and down her skin until it tickled her, and she slapped him playfully.

Emmett grabbed a hold of one particularly large branch with both hands, and swung himself around it like a pendulum until he rested on top in a crouch. He prepared himself to make a silent drop down to the forest floor, where a large bull elk was standing, not thirty feet away. For some unknown reason, Emmett had no wish to go for much larger and more difficult prey, like bear or mountain lion; he thought perhaps it was because they tended to take more off of his mind, and today he wanted to think things through so that he _could_ get them off his mind. It usually worked that way for him.

He held his breath excitedly so that the elk would sense nothing of him, unless the wind changed. Emmett jumped; there was nothing in his way that he had to maneuver around, making the exhilarating plunge down to the forest floor below just that much more invigorating. His thick, bulky, black leather jacket bunched up around his neck – the underarm was sewn much too far down, and the shoulders were, surprisingly, just a tad too large. He hit the ground with a mild _thud_, and was satisfied with the sound, as the pine nettles lathering the bottom of the tree that he had roosted in bent under his weight and did not snap like twigs in any sort of deciduous forest would.

Emmett went into ambush sequence as he slid behind the tree, taking in his surroundings circumspectly. He wanted to make things quick for the poor animal, partly because he figured he could be rather kind today and partly because he just wanted to gulp the blood down as fast as he could, just so he could have his fill and not taste the blandness of the animal. There were trees all around as far as he could sense, with the obvious deer grazing beyond, the juicy sound of its heart penetrating through most of his thoughts, the blood being pushed and sucked through its veins. A couple of brave birds had decided to venture into the tops of the very tallest conifers, twittering merrily as they carried on with their day. Everything else had decided to stay away from Emmett and he concluded that the animals maybe, just maybe, weren't as dumb as they seemed. They almost seemed to know when it was…hunting season.

Emmett smirked and ran from one tree to another, ducking behind a trunk or a large branch and peeking around to see if his prey was still within the distance he wanted it. The dumb animal had begun grazing closer to where Emmett was making his advancement, and its ears were laid back in total contentment and unawareness.

_Stupid thing_, Emmett sneered to himself, twisting his mouth into a cocky smile. The elk was now a body's length from him, his graceful hooves making hardly any noise, only crunching on the occasional leaf that littered the ground. It nibbled feverishly at the growth, and it was close enough now that Emmett could see its great muscles move as it swallowed and shifted weight from one hoof to the other as it grazed. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Emmett, almost down to each millisecond as he prepared to spring and ambush, flexing his muscles, judging the distance, taking in one more gulp of air and just drinking in the scent of the beast. A cool breeze ruffled through his slightly curly hair, and the grin grew wider and his eyes narrowed as the killer's instinct overtook him.

Unexpectedly, the majestic elk lifted its magnificent head, the grand antlers curving gracefully from its skull. It was on red alert now, for it smelled something that did not send a comforting signal to its brain. Its ears were perked forward, and its muscles tensed to run, as now the forest was not safe. The bull elk took one more diminutive whiff of the breeze that blew past its sensitive nose and decided to bolt, splaying its legs elegantly behind it as it tore away from the dangerous scent that now permeated the air.

Emmett swore and took the leap earlier than he had expected to, flying through the air as he neared the bull. The elk swerved doggedly to the right, exactly as Emmett was over the top of it, and he crashed into the ground, running to keep his balance as he tried to turn as swiftly as the elk. His fang had barely scratched the bull's left flank when it dodged him, and the taste of blood was sweet in his mouth as he scraped and slipped to try and catch up to the thing. His body finally did what he wanted it to do and he took off at full speed towards the elk, who now was ducking under branches and scrambling towards a thicket. Emmett went around the elk, trying to cut it off before it reached the thicket. The high speed chase slowed once again as Emmett's legs pumped him closer and closer to the elk, who now had unfortunately gotten its antlers tangled in some thin tree branches. It thrashed helplessly, and Emmett sensed his venom infiltrating into its bloodstream, causing it extreme agony. It began to bellow, mostly from fright and pain, but also to warn others around him that there was a lethal predator that had breached the proximity of the woods.

Emmett firmly planted one foot for the spring and kill, with the beast not three yards away, but with one supple twist to the right once more of his elongated neck, the elk broke himself free of the entanglement. The branch that he had been tugging against had come back with him, then shot forward like a rubber band when the antlers were free as Emmett soared through the air. Normally, the branch would have just shattered against Emmett's granite skin, but he had made his jump low so that he could break the elk's neck with one swift move, and the branch came snapping back at him, hitting him square in the face, the thickest part of it knocking him in his eyes, the bark scratching them thoroughly. Emmett roared in pain, and fell to the ground, splinters of the wood that he had broken with his nose and forehead falling around him. He clutched his eyes and rolled around on the ground for a while, swearing up a storm and trying to regain control over his pure fury.

_Never_ in his life had one deer given him so much trouble. Even a god-damn grizzly bear was easier to kill than this.

Once his fury was now a dwindling candle-flame, Emmett stood back up and swung at the tree, punching a hole through the center (this time he closed his eyes as the splinters flew). He kicked the base of the tree, and it fell over with a resounding crash.

_It'll grow back_, he said to himself, a snarl playing over his lips as he stared at the crumpled mass of splinters and bark.

Damn tree, now he would have to start all over from the beginning of his hunting session. Ah, but the bull wouldn't be that hard to follow; its blood was calling, singing, almost screaming out to him, and he could almost hear it dribbling from the elk's wound. The great bellows of pain would be an easy indicator too. But he had to be quick; there were mountain lions and other predators in this area, and who knows what else had heard the frenzy. Nothing would steal his prey which he had worked so absurdly hard to catch.

Emmett ran once more, keeping his smarting eyes open for any more moving tree branches that would be dumb enough to stop his rampage.

He was still pondering over how that pitiful little deer had been able to elude him. His lips pulled into a snarl and he ran faster, eager to get his revenge on that intangible thing.

_I'm not going to talk to anyone about this_, he growled to himself. _If they ask, I got side-tracked. Not even Rosalie will know that a freaking deer outsmarted me._

Rosalie…he could see her face now, just as it would be as she laughed at him and teased him about the whole incident – if he told her, she wouldn't be able to let it go for as long as she existed, and would hold it against him until the earth stopped turning.

His thoughts were interrupted by gasping breathing and a quickly pounding heart as he finally neared where the elk had lain down (more like collapsed) to give himself a rest from the searing pain that had consumed his body. His bellows were mere murmurs now, and his breathing was fast and shallow, as he barely had the energy to make his chest cavity move anymore.

"Serves you right, you stupid animal," spat Emmett at the deer, and he immediately looked around him to see if anybody had heard him talking to the thing. That would be the next thing that Rosalie would hold against him forever: if he was found talking to his food. With one low, guttural hiss he stomped on the elk's neck as hard as he could, hearing a satisfying crunch. The bull twitched a couple times and lay still as Emmett dug his fangs into its neck and feasted on its blood. He gulped it down as fast as he could; he now coveted to get as far away from this strange forest as possible.

_Bad luck_, he thought, standing up and wiping his mouth involuntarily with the back of his hand, then wiping his hand on his jeans. He looked at his shirt to see if he had spilled any blood; he remembered Esme had been thirsty when he had left, and he didn't want his clothes torn off when he got back if she hadn't gone hunting yet. He couldn't find any red stains, pushed back his slightly curly hair and then set to digging a hole for the beast. Such a magnificent animal that had been nearly his equal shouldn't have to sit on the forest floor and have the rest of him pecked out by the scavengers.

Emmett dug his hands into the dirt, scraping the first couple feet off with ease. He was about halfway through when he shook himself, his eyes wide with realization. What the hell was he doing? Rosalie's laugh filled his mind once more as he thought of what she would say when he would come back with his hands dirty and have to explain to her the whole retarded thing.

He groaned, annoyed with himself, and threw up his hands, turning and walking back out of the forest to where his car was parked.

Oh, Rosalie would be wondering where he was all right, and then he would have to make up some sort of excuse that would cause her to furrow her pretty little eyebrows at him and demand the truth, of course at which he would have to tell. He was quite the liar, and his stories were just a bit 'too believable' as Rosalie had told him. Anyway, if he wouldn't tell Rosalie, Edward sure would. Then the teasing would begin. First, Rosalie would probably scowl and grow angry – her husband shouldn't be doing such embarrassing things as talking to his food. After that, the hilarity of the situation would hit her, and she would laugh her perfect, jingle-bell laugh, and perhaps even Alice would join in if she was around. And he would turn red (if that was possible for a vampire) and raise his voice level, sheepishness clouding him.

That perfect, soothing, maddening jingle-bell laugh…Emmett realized that he hadn't heard Rosalie laugh for the longest time – when was the last time she let loose a small chuckle or even a girlish giggle? When was the last time she even smiled, just the tiniest bit of an upward curve to her mouth? It made him grimace to say that he couldn't remember, and he was sure that if he asked anybody else they would say the same thing: Edward, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, Bella…_Bella_.

It was Bella, all Bella's fault why his Rosalie never flashed her perfect, white teeth to anyone, not even him, Emmett, her love, anymore. Ever since Bella had moved to Forks, Rosalie had always been suspicious of her. And then when Edward had fallen for Bella and Bella had basically become part of the family, that was it. Rosalie had shut her mouth and clenched it tight, and her eyes had turned hard and cold.

This upset Emmett greatly. Why did Rosalie have to suffer? Why did _he_ have to suffer for Edward, watching his girl turn into the jealous monster that appeared whenever Bella was around, mentioned, or even implied? Sure, Edward was his brother – his favorite brother – but this was almost selfish of him to do such a thing. But was he being selfish too? That was not fair. For him to shun Bella because she made his girl unhappy was not the right thing to do…should he let Edward know about this? Edward might find out about it later…No, today was the first and last day he would think about this – once he left the woods it would be gone from his mind. These forests did strange things to his brain.

The right thing to do…why did that sound familiar? The right…of course! That was the way that that helpless deer kept turning, as if the right way would save its life. He could easily imagine Bella as the deer (helpless and weak as she was) – he was still the hunter, of course. 'Bella' kept swerving to the right; should he follow her and put an end to her? Or should he be kind and let her go? Of all the obstacles that blocked his way from his meal…who would be the tree? Edward? He thought of his actions today and shuddered. What lengths would he be willing to go after to see Rosalie smile once again? Just that one simple action…That was definitely something to think about, quite a while in the future, however. All this deep-thought stuff made his head ache with annoyance. Emmett still liked Bella, though; only something much, much graver would change that. But this new revelation that had dawned upon him had turned him upside down, making him see the new light that he had known was always there.

His frustration was rewarded by a punch to the nearest tree, but he did it half-heartedly, and it only created a dent in the wood, making the whole thing creak and groan as it swayed above his head.

Emmett frowned and set his shoulders. He _would _see his beautiful Rose smile again some day. No matter how many thorns got in his way.


End file.
